Juventus: What will Andrea Pirlo bring as a manager?
Pirlo joins a long line of legendary players coming home to be managers.
Four months ago, Andrea Pirlo and Fabio Cannavaro, a former teammate on the 2006 World Cup-winning team, did an Instagram Live interview.
In that interview, the new manager of the Bianconeri described that his favored playing style was the 4-3-3 attacking style reminiscent of the strategy employed by Marcello Lippi.
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At least, that is what most people took away from that conversation.
What is missing from that analysis is that Andrea stated that the style of play that he would employ would be based on the qualities of the players on the field.
The takeaway here, when combined with his praise of Conte and Ancelotti, is that Pirlo will likely bring a more pragmatic style that is based on the chess pieces on the board rather than a one size fits all approach like Sarri.
The new coach of La Signora Omicidi wrote in his memoir that though he admired super-scorers like Lionel Messi and Ronaldo, he felt the most important players were the defenders followed by the mid-fielders.
I would conclude that if fans expect Pirlo to bring an attacking possession-based style to the pitch this coming season, they will be quite disappointed.
What I expect Pirlo to bring to the picnic is as a “players coach” that is pragmatic rather than revolutionary. Some have suggested that what Juventus is looking for is another Zinedine Zidane.
Maybe.
Ironically, some have wondered if Pirlo is merely keeping the dugout seat warm in Turin for the current Real Madrid manager.
The hiring of Andrea Pirlo came as a shock to many, but it should not have been. There is a long line of legendary managers coming home to coach (Cruyff, Guardiola, Zidane, Solskajer, Lampard, to name a few).
Yet, Andrea Pirlo is different. He has never coached a professional match in his life.
It’s a massive challenge for the legendary player who never wanted to be a manager.
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He may prove my theory correct that anyone can coach Juventus to a league title. Still, his inexperience will hurt him, trying to reach the ultimate goal – the Champions League trophy.